Fix or Replace: Late 2010 MBA , Need Advice

I have a late 2010 MBA. Aside from the two issues below, it runs great and I love it, and had no desire to replace it at this time. I can scrounge the money for a replacement, but it won't be pretty and it will take virtually all of my emergency iPhone replacement fund (4s, mostly working fine, freezes occasionally, I'm still happy with it for the most part, but you never know when it might die or need to be replaced because of an accident).

First, the screen is cracked from a Bose speaker falling on it. This is the only electronics/computer/phone/anything that I have ever damaged, and I am just sick about it. The cracks themselves aren't obstructive, but there is blue "coloration" "dripping" down from the cracks, and it is very concentrated up in the upper left corner, where the controls for _everything_ are. I had hoped to have the screen replaced soon, and had an estimate of $600-800. I had decided that replacing the screen (entire upper lid) was more cost effective than buying a whole new MBA, when the laptop itself was still running fine, not out of space, etc.

But then the trackpad stopped left clicking. A reboot brought it back once. The next morning it was not left clicking again, and an SMC reset fixed it. The next morning, same thing, and it took multiple SMC resets to get it to work. At this point I changed my settings so it would never go to sleep, and the track pad has continued to work. This can't be a permanent solution, though.

How do I know if this is a software issue, that will be fixed with the next update, or an actual physical trackpad issue? If I also have to replace the trackpad, I don't know how much that costs- a guess is in the $100-200 range. That, combined with the cost of a new screen seems to make it more cost-efficient to simply buy a new MBA.

But I have to buy it at Best Buy, with credit, and can only buy the equivalent of what I have now- 13", 4GB RAM, 256GB storage (that's the best BB has). Yes, I get the latest USB, and a Thunderbolt port which I won't be using. So I'm not even excited by the prospect of a new laptop. I also realize that new MBA models will come out later this year- should I try to stick it out?

The nearest Apple store is roughly 100 miles away. There _is_ an authorized Apple repair shop in town.

I'm only going to be able to scrounge about $500 cash, so buying a refurb is out of the question. I'm also concerned about how I'll transfer everything. I'm thinking maybe buy a refurb Time Capsule, back it up, then reinstall Mavericks??? See if that fixes the trackpad issue? I have sketchy wifi at home. If I connect the old and new MBAs, it would have to be via USB. I'm thinking it might be less trouble to put everything on a Time Capsule. At least I don't have a ton of apps/programs to restore. Lightroom is the big one.

You don't need to buy a Time Capsule. Any old cheap external drive will work. Then you just plug it in to the computer and do a time machine backup to it. Time capsules are more expensive because they are router/wifi hotspot/time machine drive combined.

Time capsules are great but I was just trying to save you some money.
Anyway, if all you need on the router is more ports (I'm assuming you mean Ethernet ports), then I cheaper way to do that is to hit a cheap hub which will just give you more ports and pass the traffic thru to your existing router (a hub has no smarts unlike the router) for DHCP, routing, etc.

And I appreciate that. The whole situation just makes me mad. I still have my first gen iPad. My truck has 270,000 miles on it and is running fine. I like the things I like to live forever. Well, at least the newer model looks like an upgrade in terms of performance. And I'm not even close to grown out of space in the old one.

For better or worse, I've made my decision. I thought I would buy the Time Capsule, do a back-up, hold out on the MBA as long as I could, see if a Mavericks update fixed the trackpad issue, if so, fix the screen. So I stopped at BB. Time Capsule was $25 off, but not in stock! So I got to talking to the Apple guy and the BB guy, saying I was this close to just buying a new MBA, and the BB guy says, hey, do you have an edu e-mail address? Why yes I do...So the MBA would be $150 less- and I just did it. And the Apple guy looked on the truck and found the 2TB TC, so all is well. I'll attempt the router change tomorrow. I have faith in Apple, but not in Windstream, my DSL provider. My last router install was horrendous.

I've never set up a time capsule but I have an AirPort Extreme. It should be really easy. It shouldn't be much more than an Ethernet cable from your DSL modem to the in port on the time capsule and plug it in. You can then use the airport utility on the MBA or even the airport utility app for iPhone if it needs further configuring.

I've done an Airport Extreme install up at my boyfriend's house, to cable. It was SO simple. The Apple rep at Best Buy was great- he showed me how to install the Time Capsule with my phone- said it was simpler than with the laptop. And gave me his business card to call or text him if I had problems. I'm not attempting it till tomorrow morning, though. I really want to watch the finale of Dexter on Netflix tonight...

Once the Time Capsule is installed, it will be a relief. I have really wanted to switch to an Apple router, but have been afraid to try after the hours of tech support it took to get the current one set-up.

Final Update: After the Time Machine gave me an estimate of 17 hours to back-up my old MBA by wifi, I went back to Best Buy and bought a USB to ethernet adaptor, and a Thunderbolt to ethernet adaptor. (I also went ahead and bought an 8-port switch- that should give me enough for a while!) It then took four hours to back-up, and then 2 hours to install the back-up into the new MBA. Aside from a moment of confusion when I first started the new MBA, and it had a black screen, and wanted to teach me about voice control, (???? turn off and start over!!) the move went off without a hitch, and the new MBA is an identical copy of the old MBA, right down to all the software. Wow. Even though it was expensive, I am very pleased with my decision. Thanks for the help!